Homemade hamburger buns are the perfect compliment to a backyard barbecue, because nothing will make a homemade burger taste better. Portuguese Girl Cooks baked up some Homemade Hamburger Buns with Cheddar and Black Pepper to bring even more flavor to her burgers. The yeast buns are easy to mix up, and are flavored with sharp cheddar cheese and lots of black pepper. It really brings a savory element to the buns, which will make burgers seem even more mouthwatering. And these buns can be used for all kinds of other sandwiches, too, if you’re not grilling burgers up.

Thumbprint cookies get a bit of a grownup twist in Technicolor Kitchen‘s Peanut Butter and Port Thumbprints. These cookies start with a simple peanut butter cookie, but the jam filling is spiked with a little bit of ruby port. The sweet port blends well with the raspberry preserves and gives them a little kick. Thumbprint cookies are very popular around the holidays, and this variation on the basic recipe might be perfect for bringing a little extra spirit to that cookie plate.

Dessert doesn’t get much cuter than My Baking Addiction‘s Mini Lemon Meringue Pies. These bite-sized pies are made with homemade lemon curd and topped with a simple meringue topping. You can make homemade mini tart shells, or buy premade miniature tarts, but with either option you are going to get some impressive little pies. The lemon curd is bright and tart, and this particular recipe couldn’t be any easier because it can be made in the microwave! Add a little bit of lemon zest to the meringue topping for an even lemony finish – if you’re a citrus lover, like me.

Apple pie is a fall classic, and you can get those same delicious flavors in the Brown Sugar Apple Cheesecake from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, but in a format that is very different from a traditional apple pie. Apples are cooked with butter and brown sugar until sweet and tender, then they are layered into an apple cider-spiked cheesecake batter and baked in a spicy gingersnap crust. Like an apple pie, this cheesecake could be served all year round, but its flavors are going to be most welcome in the fall when everyone is in the mood for apple and spice in their desserts.